Nintendo faces Switch Joy-Con drift class action lawsuit
UPDATE: "We take great pride in creating quality products," company responds.
UPDATE 23/7/19: Nintendo has issued a statement on the recent crop of reports surrounding defective Joy-Con, a day after reports filled the internet that it was now the subject of a class action lawsuit in the US.
There's no mention, specifically, of that lawsuit in the statement below, but it's clear why this comment was issued now. Nintendo's message to Switch owners? Contact Nintendo's support site to see what the company can do.
"At Nintendo, we take great pride in creating quality products and we are continuously making improvements to them," a Nintendo UK spokesperson told Eurogamer this morning. "We are aware of recent reports that some Joy-Con controllers are not responding correctly. We want our consumers to have fun with Nintendo Switch, and if anything falls short of this goal we always encourage them to visit http://support.nintendo.co.uk so we can help."
ORIGINAL STORY 22/7/19: US lawyers have filed a class action lawsuit against Nintendo after concerns around the issue of Joy-Con drift.
It's a case which has been bubbling away for some weeks now while a growing number of fans have aired their grievances online - all claiming their Joy-Con controllers have begun misbehaving.
The lawsuit was finally filed last Friday via the United States District Court in Washington by the law offices of Chimicles, Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D).
It alleges Joy-Con contollers are "defective" because, after time, they can begin "drifting" - causing movement from an analogue stick even if the user is not controlling it at the time.
CSK&D filed the lawsuit on behalf of one Switch owner, California man Ryan Diaz, who purchased a Switch back in July 2017. After 11 months, Diaz's left Joy-Con began drifting so he sent it for repair. Three months later, the problem returned. Diaz then purchased an extra pair of Joy-Con - only to experience the same issue with those, too.
It's a common problem, the lawsuit suggests. Included in the lawsuit document are quotes from other Switch owners, taken from Nintendo's own support forums, reddit and GameFAQs, all complaining of a similar issue.
Now, CSK&D is seeking more Nintendo Switch fans based in the US to join in the class action suit. The firm has launched an online form with a few simple questions, such as asking the age of your Switch and Joy-Con, when the drifting problem began occurring, and whether Nintendo has been made aware.
Nintendo declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by Eurogamer today.
If you're experiencing drift in a Joy-Con controller, the easiest method of fixing the issue is to recalibrate its analogue sticks via the Switch's Settings menu. If that doesn't fix the issue, you're left to either send your Joy-Con to Nintendo or attempt to clean the controller's internal parts yourself - which risks doing more harm than good.